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FEATURE STORY — January/February 2005

Ron Turner's firing opens the door for former Florida coach

By Laura Weisskopf Bleill

Zook

The night before Ron Zook was introduced as the new Illini football coach, he was already working the phones and contacting recruits.

Zook, 50, brings to the University of Illinois a reputation for being a tireless worker and relentless recruiter. He compiled a 23-16 record in three years as head coach at the University of Florida, leading the Gators to three consecutive bowl appearances. The Ohio native, who played defensive back at Miami of Ohio, has 27 years of coaching experience in college and the pros, including a stint as an assistant coach at Ohio State.

"I had several candidates who could have been right," Athletics Director Ron Guenther '67 ALS, MS '68 ALS, said at the Dec. 7 news conference. "This one, for me, was the most right."

Zook takes over a team that has endured three consecutive losing seasons. The Illini have won just one Big Ten game in the past two years. This fall, Illinois finished last in the conference with a 3-8 overall record.

"Every place, every program has a starting point," Zook said. "That's why this program excites me so much. We're not concerned about what's happened. It's straight ahead. When you have the things we have here, it may take some time, but there's no reason why we shouldn't be where we're supposed to be."

Two weeks earlier, Illinois closed one chapter by firing Ron Turner, who just three years ago was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. But the team never fulfilled the promise it showed following a 10-1 Big Ten championship season in 2001 that ended with a loss in the Sugar Bowl.

As a result, attendance at Memorial Stadium declined sharply. The average crowd during the 2004 season was more than 20,000 under building capacity. Turner compiled a 35-57 record with two bowl trips over eight seasons at the helm.

Players and team supporters lauded Turner for his unwavering commitment to the program and the character he exhibited throughout a trying season.

"He taught me a lot," said sophomore running back Pierre Thomas, who was voted the team's MVP this year. "He taught me how to be more mature, how to take life seriously."

A falloff in recruiting was the main reason Guenther said he decided to make the change at head coach. Illinois attracted fewer and fewer blue-chip recruits during the last few years, making it more difficult to compete in one of the nation's top conferences.

But it wasn't just Zook's skills as a recruiter that impressed Guenther.

"After that, the thing that attracted me the most was how strongly (Zook's Florida) squad felt about him; that's the first thing you notice," he said. "The second thing you notice, when you get an opportunity to talk to him at any length, is the unbelievable passion that he has for the game — very, very, very close to (men's head basketball coach Bruce) Weber, in terms of the same kind of guy. I don't think they would care if they were coaching junior high, high school. ... They're going to get after it and compete."

According to the University, Zook signed a five-year contract for about $1 million a year.

Although Guenther did not seek the players' input on the coaching search, several current Illini ecstatically approved of his choice.

"He's a coach that I always dreamed I could play for," said freshman defensive back Justin Harrison. "Him coming to the U of I — this is a great opportunity for both of us, me being able to play for him as well as him coming to coach such a great team."

Florida fired Zook, who could not satisfy demanding fans, midway through the season. He stayed on as head coach through the regular season schedule, and the team responded by winning three of four games after his termination. That included a historic victory at No. 8 Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla., where the Gators had not won since 1986.

It seems that Florida's loss will be Champaign-Urbana's gain. Zook's wife, Denise, and two daughters, Jacquelyn and Casey, will accompany him to the University. Zook also hopes several members of his coaching staff from Florida will join him at his new post.

He has no intentions of making his stay at Illinois a short one.

"I would like to unpack all the boxes, absolutely," Zook said. "Coach Guenther and I talked about that. This is a place where I can see myself being as long as I can coach."

Bleill is a free-lance writer in Champaign.

Photo by: UI Division of Intercollegiate Athletics